NOV  4  191  n 


BV  45A1  .M35  1919 
Matheson,  Malcolm 
Paying  the  price 


^-^felT^T 


MALCOLM   MATHESON,  B.  D.,  PH.  D. 


PAYING  THE  PRICE 

The    Young   Man    Who    Considered    the 
Price  Too  Great 


V 

MALCOLM  MATHESON,  B.  D.,  PH.  D. 


BOSTON 

RICHARD  G.  BADGER 

THE   GORHAM    PRESS 


Copyright,   1919,  by  Malcolm  Matheson 
All  Rights  Reserved 


MADE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


The  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Paying  the  Price 9 

First  Stage — Self-Sufficiency 13 

Second  Stage — Something  Wanting 27 

Third  Stage — A  Vision  of  Eternal  Life.  ...  37 

Fourth  Stage — One  Thing  Lacking 43 

Fifth  Stage — Christ  in  the  Balance 55 

Sixth  Stage — The  Price  Too  Great 61 


Matthew  ig:  16-22. 

"And  behold,  one  came  to  him  and  said.  Teacher,  what 
good  thing  shall  I  do,  that  I  may  have  eternal  life?  And 
he  said  unto  him,  why  asketh  thou  me  concerning  that 
which  is  good?  One  there  is  who  is  good.  But  if  thou 
wouldest  enter  into  life,  keep  the  com?nand?nents.  He  saith 
unto  him,  which f  And  Jesus  said.  Thou  shalt  not  kill. 
Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery.  Thou  shalt  not  steal. 
Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness.  Honor  thy  father  and 
thy  mother;  and,  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 
The  young  man  saith  unto  him.  All  these  things  have  I 
observed:  what  lack  I  yet?  Jesus  said  unto  him.  If  thou 
wouldest  be  perfect,  go,  sell  that  which  thou  hast,  and 
give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven: 
and  come,  follow  me.  But  when  the  young  man  heard 
the  saying,  he  went  away  sorrowful;  for  he  was  one  that 
had  great  possessions'' 


Mark  10:17-22, 

"And  as  he  was  going  forth  into  the  way,  there  ran  one 
to  hi?n,  and  kneeled  to  him,  and  asked  him.  Good  Teacher, 
what  shall  I  do  that  I  may  inherit  eternal  lifef  And 
Jesus  said  unto  him.  Why  callest  thou  me  good?  none  is 
good  save  one,  even  God.  Thou  knowest  the  command- 
ments. Do  not  kill.  Do  not  commit  adultery.  Do  not 
steal.  Do  not  bear  false  witness.  Do  not  defraud.  Honor 
thy  father  and  mother.  And  he  said  unto  him.  Teacher, 
all  these  things  have  I  observed  from  my  youth.  And 
Jesus  looking  upon  him  loved  him,  and  said  unto  him. 
One  thing  thou  lackest:  go,  sell  whatsoever  thou  hast, 
and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heav- 
en: and  come,  follow  me.  But  his  countenance  fell  at  the 
saying,  and  he  went  away  sorrowful:  for  he  was  one  that 
had  great  possessions." 


PAYING  THE  PRICE 


PAYING  THE  PRICE 

The  Young  Man  Who  Considered  the  Price  Too 
Great 

T^HE  master  passion  of  a  man's  life  is  that  cen- 
^  ter  around  which  all  his  conduct,  character 
and  life  radiate.  The  dominant  factor  in  a  man's 
life  is  that  to  which  everything  else  in  his  life  is 
subservient.  In  every  man's  character  there  is  a 
point  which  rules;  and  to  which  everything  else 
is  brought  for  comparison  and  settlement.  If  a 
man  makes  the  accumulation  of  wealth  the  domi- 
nant factor,  and  master  passion  of  his  life,  every- 
thing is  brought  to  that  pivotal  point  in  his  life  and 
character  for  comparison,  judgment  and  final  set- 
tlement. Alexander  the  Great  made  the  conquest 
of  the  world  the  master  passion  of  his  life.  He 
felt  that  this  was  the  greatest  thing  in  all  the  world 
for  man  to  aim  at.  He  realized  his  dream;  but, 
alas,  I  see  him  weeping  that  the  end  of  his  wonder- 
ful achievements  was  at  hand;  he  filled  a  prema- 
ture grave  from  reckless  living,  and  his  master 
conquests  crumbled  into  divided  empires.  Napo- 
leon started  out  to  terrorize  all  the  world.  The 
idol  and  ruling  passion  of  his  life  was  world  con- 
quest and  great  earthly  achievements.  He  stood 
upon  the  island  of  St.  Helena  stripped  of  all  his 

9 


10  Paying  the  Price 

wonderful  achievements,  and  felt  deep  down  in  his 
heart  that  there  was  after  all  a  better  road  in  life 
to  travel  than  that  over  which  he  had  passed.  Cae- 
sar said,  the  world  is  mine.  The  boundaries  of 
great  empires  trembled  under  the  tread  of  his 
foot.  The  peasant  regarded  him  as  a  god,  worthy 
of  the  Yv^orship  of  the  noblest  elements  in  man. 
But  he  fell,  a  victim  to  the  assassin's  blade,  and  I 
hear  him  whispering  down  the  aisles  of  time  "van- 
ity of  vanities"  is  written  across  the  face  of  all  my 
great  glories ;  and  my  tracks  across  the  sandy  des- 
ert of  time  will  soon  be  filled  in  by  the  breeze  from 
the  receding  chain  of  years.  The  Man  of  Galilee 
appeared  from  amongst  the  peasantry  of  the 
orient.  There  was  a  master  passion,  and  a  pivotal 
point  in  His  character  around  which  radiated  His 
entire  life.  It  was  not  the  material  conquest  of 
the  world,  nor  the  accumulation  of  the  treasures 
of  earth;  but  love  to  God,  and  service  to  man. 
Traveling  upon  this  foundation,  with  this  center 
around  which  His  entire  life  radiated.  He  began 
to  rise,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  with  healing  in 
His  beams.  He  crossed  the  expanse  of  time  like 
a  meteor  leaving  a  trail  of  brightness  as  He  trav- 
eled. He  diffuses  a  transforming  influence  that  is 
molding  the  world,  and  changing  the  old  planet 
into  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  wherein  dwel- 
eth  righteousness. 


Paying  the  Price  1 1 


This  young  man  came  to  Jesus  Christ  with  a 
clear  conception  formed  of  what  he  considered  the 
greatest  thing  in  all  the  world.  The  pivotal  point, 
and  master  passion  of  his  life  was,  the  accumula- 
tion of  wealth;  seasoned  by  an  ethical  material 
conception  of  things  religious.  Wordly  prosper- 
ity was  the  uppermost  thing  in  all  his  life ;  with  re- 
ligion merely  a  parasite  growing  upon  the  boughs 
thereof.  He  desired  to  have  other  things  besides 
worldly  accumulations;  but  earthly  possessions 
were  to  him  the  foundation  qualities  of  excellence. 
All  other  things  must  be  subservient  to  this  central 
factor  In  his  life  and  character.  He  came  where 
Jesus  Christ  was  and  asked : '  Vhat  must  I  do  to  in- 
herit eternal  life."  He  had  splendid  religious 
aspirations;  a  favorable  inclination  towards  things 
divine ;  so  he  asked  this  question.  Jesus  told  him 
that  there  was  one  thing  he  would  have  to  do,  and 
that  was,  to  change  the  pivotal  point,  or  master 
passion  of  his  life.  That  he  would  have  to  put 
the  things  of  God  and  heaven  in  place  of  his  pas- 
sion for  the  accumulation  of  earthly  possessions. 
In  substance  he  deliberately  made  answer  that  the 
price  was  entirely  too  great;  he  went  away  sad  of 
countenance,  and  is  never  heard  from  again. 

Let  us  consider  this  young  man's  life  from  vari- 
ous points  of  view.  From  the  earliest  possible  con- 
ception that  we  can  legitimately  form  of  him,  let 


12  Paying  the  Price 

us  follow  him  until  he  came  to  the  climax,  when 
he  made  the  great  refusal  because  he  considered 
the  price  too  great,  and  vanished  forever  from 
sight. 


FIRST  STAGE 

SELF-SUFFICIENCY 

T^HE  first  stage  in  this  young  man's  life  was 
-*•  that  of  self-sufficiency.  There  evidently  was 
a  time  when  he  felt  that  he  lacked  nothing.  Be- 
cause of  his  possessions,  he  no  doubt  enjoyed  a 
goodly  measure  of  popularity  among  his  asso- 
ciates, which  led  him  to  lose  sight  of  the  weaknesses 
and  short  comings  peculiar  to  the  entire  human 
race ;  but  more  especially  to  the  young  man  full  of 
life,  and  surrounded  by  bright  prospects  for  the 
future.  To  guard  against  a  similar  weakness, 
every  young  man  starting  out  in  life  would  do  well 
to  remember  the  boundaries  and  limitations  of 
life.  That  regardless  of  social  standing,  prospects, 
and  opportunities  these  limitations  enter  into  all 
the  fields  of  human  activities;  and  the  wise  man 
will  always  guard  against  becoming  enslaved  to 
the  idea  of  self-sufficiency.  One  of  the  great 
things  in  life  for  a  young  man  to  guard  against  is, 
that  of  losing  self-reliance  and  self-confidence. 
These  two  noble  qualifications  gone,  the  young 
man  at  once  becomes  a  weakling.  Without  these 
two,  the  spirit  is  caged,  ability  concealed,  and  tal- 
ents lie  buried  never  to  be  quickened.  Many  a 
young  man  has  become  a  weakling  in  this  respect 
because  of  snubbery  of  bombastic  unworthy  asso- 
ciates.    Under  such  circumstances,  nine  cases  out 

13 


14  Paying  the  Price 

of  every  ten,  failure  is  written  in  very  bold  type 
across  the  future  which  otherwise  might  have  been 
a  bright  career.  He  is  doomed  to  failure  unless 
by  a  kind  turn  of  providence  he  is  able  to  surmount 
and  regain  his  original  natural  standing  with  his 
inherent  qualifications.  Self-reliance  and  self-con- 
fidence do  not  mean  a  feeling  of  self-sufl[iciency  and 
of  lacking  nothing.  One  of  the  most  dangerous 
positions  in  a  young  man's  life  is,  to  become  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  one's  self.  There  can  be  no 
growth,  nor  progress  in  such  a  life.  The  ideal 
condition  is,  for  the  young  man  to  see  mountain 
peaks  towering  high  above  him  which  are  as  yet 
unmastered  and  unconquered ;  and,  with  the  prop- 
er degree  of  self-confidence  and  self-reliance;  call- 
ing God  into  co-operation  to  start  out  and  scale 
these  towering  heights.  At  this  stage  of  self-suf- 
ficiency in  this  young  man's  life,  he  was  blind  to 
the  boundaries  and  limitations  of  humanity.  Great 
facts  were  towering  about  him  upon  all  sides,  but 
he  could  not  see  that  there  was  any  necessity  for 
him  to  feel  other  than  that  he  was  upon  the  right 
track  in  life.  He  thus  reminds  us  of  the  young 
man  acting  as  Elisha's  servant.  The  enemy  sur- 
rounded the  city,  and  the  young  man  felt  that  all 
was  ended.  The  prophet  prayed  God  to  open  his 
eyes  that  he  might  see.  He  saw  the  mountains 
full  of  horses  and  chariots  he  never  heard  of  be- 


First  Stage — Self -Sufficiency  15 

fore.  I  shall  characterize  this  first  stage  of  this 
young  man's  life  as  a  condition  of  blindness;  or 
the  inability  to  see  the  error  of  making  earthly 
possessions  the  master  passion  of  his  life,  and  turn- 
ing his  back  upon  God  because  his  limited  vision 
considered  the  price  too  great.  I  invite  the  young 
man  into  a  consideration  of  a  few  of  the  things 
which  may  lead  to  this  blindness  in  life. 

First: — Blindness,  as  a  logical  consequence  of 
inherent  natural  weakness.  Because  of  this  inher- 
ent natural  weakness  peculiar  to  humanity  in  all 
the  ages,  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  for  the  young 
man  to  be  always  asking  the  question — am  I  right ; 
and  to  give  due  consideration  to  the  judgments 
and  opinions  of  others.  Man  is  constantly  acquir- 
ing knowledge  through  the  senses,  which  have 
their  boundaries  and  limitations  definitely  set,  and 
nature  is  constantly  saying,  thus  far  shalt  thou 
go  but  no  further.  Man's  ear  is  an  avenue  of 
great  convenience  in  life ;  as  well  as  to  enable  him 
to  learn  through  sound  the  grandeur  and  magnifi- 
cence of  the  world  of  nature.  But  sound  a  note 
beyond  thirty-eight  thousand  vibrations  per  second 
and  the  ear  is  useless,  for  at  that  stage  sound  be- 
comes a  blank  to  the  ear.  At  the  distance  of  nine 
miles  the  horizon  closes  in  upon  the  eye.  In  so  far 
as  the  eye  is  concerned  man  is  blind  to  everything 
beyond  that  distance  reaching  out  into  that  mar- 


1 6  Paying  the  Price 

velous  space  terminating  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
universe.  The  scientist  informs  us  that  the  ana- 
lyzed ray  of  light  reveals  the  seven  colors  to  the 
eye ;  but  that  there  are  all  indications  to  show  that 
there  are  other  divisions  of  the  same  ray  of  light 
which  are  beyond  the  power  of  the  human  eye  to 
grasp  in  its  present  stage  of  development.  The 
whole  universe  is  but  a  collection  of  facts  and 
truths;  and  in  so  far  as  knowledge  thereof  is  con- 
cerned, man  is  a  child  playing  with  the  pebbles  up- 
on the  shore  of  the  mighty  ocean.  I  ask  the  farm- 
er to  tell  me  how  the  grain  of  corn  develops  into 
the  great  stock  and  full  ear.  He  shows  me  the 
family  to  which  it  belongs ;  its  stock,  stamins  and 
pistils,  and  the  particular  way  in  which  it  is  ferti- 
lized. I  ask  the  biologist  to  explain;  and  he  talks 
learnedly  of  protoplasm,  homologous  organs  and 
primitive  types.  I  ask  the  chemist;  and  he  shows 
me  the  chemically  analyzed  contents  of  the  devel- 
oped seed  securely  placed  in  bottles  and  each  bot- 
tle labeled  its  chemical  contents.  The  astronomer 
points  to  the  sun  and  says  that  it  takes  the  whole 
solar  system  to  cause  a  single  ear  of  corn  to  grow. 
But  when  I  ask  them  all  to  explain  its  life  princi- 
ple, and  the  hidden  mystery  of  its  growth,  they  all 
make  answer,  that  that  is  beyond  the  boundaries 
and  limitations  of  man's  power  to  know.  The 
blade  of  grass  is  a  little  laboratory  constantly  tak- 


First  Stage — Self-Sufficiency  17 

ing  in  the  Carbon-Dioxide  from  the  atmosphere, 
retaining  the  carbon  and  sending  the  purified  oxy- 
gen back  into  the  atmosphere  for  us  to  breathe. 
When  I  ask  for  an  explanation  as  to  how  this  is 
done  by  the  plant,  man  stands  helpless,  confessing 
that  he  is  blind.  One  of  the  leading  educators  of 
the  United  States,  in  a  popular  lecture  relates  the 
experience  of  a  Massachusetts  young  man,  who 
sold  his  farm  as  being  worthless.  This  young  man 
was  a  bright  college  student.  He  received  fair  re- 
muneration for  tutoring  during  the  advanced  per- 
iod of  his  college  course.  At  graduation,  he  was 
offered  a  professorship  by  the  college  at  a  splendid 
salary.  He  was  the  only  boy  of  a  widowed  moth- 
er with  whom  he  lived  on  her  farm.  He  declined 
the  generous  offer  from  the  college,  and  insisted 
upon  the  mother  to  sell  the  farm,  and  go  "west" 
with  him  where  he  would  have  an  opportunity  to 
prospect  among  the  silver  and  gold  mines  of  the 
western  hills.  This  done,  like  the  young  man  of 
our  scripture  narrative,  he  vanished  and  is  never 
heard  from  again.  In  the  meantime,  the  man  who 
bought  the  farm  discovered  in  a  stone  wall  near 
the  barn  a  block  of  native  silver  eight  inches 
square.  "Here  was  a  hundred  thousand  dollars 
right  down  here  just  for  the  taking."  The  young 
man  was  going  up  and  down  the  world  looking  for 
that  very  thing  upon  which  his  eyes  fell  every  day 


1 8  Paying  the  Price 

as  he  walked  by  on  his  way  to  the  college.  The 
lecturer's  teaching  is,  that  right  underneath  our 
feet  there  are  fortunes  as  great  as  that  of  the  far 
distance  if  we  only  had  eyes  to  see  and  ears  to 
hear.  Every  day  in  the  year,  young  men  are  walk- 
ing by  doors  that  lead  to  fortune,  because  of  the 
boundaries  and  limitations  of  man's  perceiving 
powers. 

Because  of  blindness,  as  a  logical  consequence  of 
inherent  weakness;  Shakespeare  died  unappre- 
ciated by  his  own  age.  It  was  left  for  a  future 
generation,  three  hundred  years  after  his  death, 
to  have  the  scales  fall  from  their  eyes  and  realize 
that  a  wonderful  thinker  and  writer  had  lived 
sometime  in  the  past.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  un- 
appreciated, and  with  great  struggling  fought  his 
way  to  the  heights,  only  to  be  severely  criticized, 
and  finally  meet  the  assassin's  blade.  It  was  left 
for  a  rising  generation,  in  the  following  century  to 
encase  the  log  cabin  of  his  birth  in  marble  of  ex- 
quisite beauty.  Cromwell,  the  great  English  states- 
man, was  buried  in  Westminster  Abby,  but  soon 
afterwards  his  body  was  dragged  out  of  its  sepul- 
chre and  hanged  in  ridicule.  For  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years  he  was  execrated,  until  a  wiser  genera- 
tion with  greater  perceiving  powers,  recognized 
him  as  the  man  of  iron  who  destroyed  despotism 
in  England,  and  laid  the  foundations  upon  which 


First  Stage — Self-Sufficiency  19 

world  democracy  is  building  today.  In  the  year 
1899  ^  monument  was  erected  to  his  memory  in 
Westminster  Abby.  Mozart,  the  leading  musician 
of  his  age,  and  one  of  the  greatest  that  ever  lived, 
died  unrecognized  and  unappreciated.  One  morn- 
ing a  friend  came  into  his  home  and  found  Mozart 
and  his  young  wife  waltzing  around  the  room  to 
keep  warm,  for  the  fuel  was  all  gone  and  the 
pocketbook  was  empty.  He  worked  beyond  his 
physical  endurance  trying  to  make  ends  meet;  he 
composed  master  productions,  but  a  blear-eyed 
age  in  gawkness  looked  on  and  failed  to  see  any- 
thing but  an  ordinary  man  with  extreme  musical 
notions.  Caused  by  poverty,  enmity  and  disap- 
pointment, on  December  5th,  1791,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-seven,  he  died  from  a  broken  spirit.  Early 
the  next  day  his  body  was  hurried,  in  a  drizzling 
rain,  to  its  last  resting  place.  He  was  buried  in  a 
pauper's  grave  on  the  outside  of  the  city  of 
Vienna.  One  hundred  years  afterwards,  the  world 
began  to  realize  that  a  Mozart  had  lived.  Then 
the  city  of  Vienna  voted  a  magnificent  sum  for  the 
erection  of  a  monument  to  mark  his  last  resting 
place,  and  to  claim  the  honor  of  his  citizenship. 
Today,  if  you  visit  that  pauper's  field  your  atten- 
tion would  be  attracted  by  this  splendid  monu- 
ment. But,  alas,  as  you  read  the  inscription  there- 
on, upon  the  base  thereof  you  would  find  these 


20  Paying  the  Price 

words:  "The  probable  site  of  Mozart's  grave." 
"The  blindness  which  caused  the  young  man  who 
came  to  Jesus  from  seeing  was  caused  by  the  same 
inherent  weakness  that  has  led  the  great  multitude 
to  travel  the  same  path  ever  since.  Jesus  Christ 
was  regarded  as  a  Jewish  peasant,  and  an  impos- 
tor turning  divinity  into  a  mockery.  He  was  sadly 
misunderstood;  sorely  persecuted;  and  was  at  last 
ignominiously  crucified;  but  destined  to  loom  up 
as  the  most  sublime  figure  of  all  the  ages,  and  at 
last  recognized  by  the  whole  world  as  the  Son  of 
God.  Their  eyes  were  holden  from  inherent  nat- 
ural weakness;  they  denounced  His  claims  to  di- 
vinity but  all  saw  clearly,  when  the  sun  was  turned 
to  darkness,  the  veil  of  the  temple  torn  asunder; 
the  rocks  rent  in  twain;  and  the  buried  dead  began 
to  walk  the  earth. 

Second : — Blindness,  or  inability  to  place  things 
in  their  right  relation  in  life,  may  be  caused,  by 
the  abnormal  development,  and  wrong  application 
of  our  perceiving  powers.  Every  young  man  is 
endowed  with  powers  to  see  and  to  understand  to 
a  certain  extent.  The  great  responsibility  comes 
in  the  development  of,  and  applications  that 
are  made  of  these  powers.  In  starting  upon  the 
highway  of  life,  the  young  man  comes  in  contact 
with  certain  influences  which  tend  to  form  a  mold 
for  his  character,  and  direct  the  path  in  which  he 


First  Stage — Self-Sufficiency  21 

shall  travel.  He  has  to  contend  with  the  law  of 
heredity;  for  the  Influence  of  a  past  generation  Is 
trickling  through  his  veins.  His  environment  Is 
ever  present  with  him  making  Itself  known  at 
every  turn.  The  spirit  of  the  age  In  which  he  Is 
living  Is  forever  proclaiming:  "This  Is  the  way 
walk  ye  In  It."  Because  of  these  factors,  there  Is 
great  necessity  of  coming  for  guidance  to  some- 
thing that  Is  solid,  established,  that  has  stood  the 
test  of  ages,  and  Is  recognized  the  world  over  as 
the  eternally  established  standard  from  heaven.  A 
profound  question  In  the  young  man's  life  Is:  are 
my  heavenly  endowed  perceiving  powers,  normal- 
ly developed  and  rightly  applied.  The  universal 
order  of  things  In  the  human  race,  expect  the  de- 
velopment and  use  of  these  perceiving  powers.  If 
neglected  and  not  developed,  man  shall  surely  be- 
come a  parasite  upon  the  boughs  of  human  socie- 
ty. The  fish  in  Mammoth  cave,  has  lost  its  eyes, 
because  there  was  no  light  In  the  cave  to  exercise 
the  sight.  Professor  Drummond  informs  us, 
concerning  the  Sacculina ;  a  minute  organism  fre- 
quently found  in  the  Hermit-Crab.  Nature  des- 
tined It  to  sail  buoyantly  upon  the  face  of  the 
ocean;  to  Independently  enjoy,  and  possess  the 
beauty  of  nature.  But  with  the  pauper  spirit  of  a 
parisite,  it  embedded  itself  in  the  crab,  and  sucked 
its  nourishment  from  it.     From  disuse,  its  mem- 


2  2  Paying  the  Price 

bers  gradually  dropped  off;  and  now  its  glorious 
destiny  is  lost  in  this  poor  degenerate  parasite.  It 
can  no  longer  enjoy  the  ocean  billows.  Its  oppor- 
tunity is  past.  It  pursued  the  wrong  course,  and 
now  its  natural  endowments  are  gone.  Man's  nat- 
ural endowments  must  be  developed;  must  be  exer- 
cised, or  they  will  shrink,  shrivel,  and  be  but  mere 
shadows  of  what  they  are  capable  of  becoming. 
Guard  against  the  neglect  of  the  development  of 
those  qualities  of  the  soul  which  will  enable  you  to 
see  far  into  things;  and  seeing  things  in  their  right 
relationship.  Guard  with  equal  alertness  against 
the  wrong  application,  when  you  do  develop  these 
powers.  The  young  man  who  came  where  Jesus 
Christ  was  developed  his,  but  he  allowed  himself 
to  be  controlled  entirely  by  inherent  natural  ten- 
dencies, and  outside  factors.  A  father  left  his  in- 
valid daughter  at  home  as  he  took  a  far  journey 
into  the  bosom  of  nature.  His  mission  was,  to 
explore  a  coal  field  for  commercial  investment.  It 
was  at  that  season  of  the  year  when  nature  was  in 
the  height  of  her  glory.  Upon  returning  home, 
the  invalid  girl  asked  him,  if  he  saw  the  grandeur 
of  nature.  He  replied,  no.  Asked  if  he  saw  "the 
cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills" ;  the  flowers  bloom- 
ing; the  full  fledged  foliage  of  nature;  the  birds 
by  their  nests  giving  expression  to  the  overflowing 
gratitude  of  instinct;  he  replied,  no.   Asked  if  he 


First  Stage — Self-Sufficiency  23 

saw  the  marvelous  works  of  nature  robing  her  In 
the  heights  of  splendor,  revealing  the  wonderful 
operations  of  a  mysterious  power;  he  replied,  no. 
Whereupon,  the  girl  asked  him  what  he  did  see, 
he  replied :  "nothing  but  coal."  He  passed  through 
It  all.  It  met  his  gaze,  but  he  could  not  see  for  he 
was  blind.  Having  eyes  he  could  not  see  because 
of  the  abnormal  development,  and  wrong  applica- 
tion of  his  divinely  endowed  perceiving  powers.  So 
it  was  with  this  young  man  who  came  to  Jesus 
Christ  asking,  "what  must  I  do  to  Inherit  eternal 
life."  The  Saviour  placed  the  matter  clearly  be- 
fore him  but  he  could  not  see. 

Third: — Man  remains  in  a  condition  of  blind- 
ness, because  of  his  inability  to  surmount  obstacles 
and  hindrances.  This  young  man  desired  to  fol- 
low Jesus  but  the  obstacle  that  intervened  was  too 
great  to  surmount;  and  he  decided  to  remain  as  he 
was.  Remember,  my  dear  young  sir,  the  problem 
of  encountered  obstacles  in  attaining  to  an  Ideal. 
The  way  to  great  heights  in  life  Is  paved  with 
rough  boulders  and  scraggy  pebbles.  For  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  ups  and  downs  of  the  way  to  the  Ce- 
lestial City,  read  John  Bunyan's  "The  Pilgrim's 
Progress."  When  blind  Bartimaeus,  heard  that 
the  Saviour  was  near,  the  first  obstacle  he  had  to 
contend  with  was :  to  accept  upon  the  testimony  of 
others,  that  "Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  passing  by." 


24  Paying  the  Price 

He  had  considerable  circumstantial  evidences  to 
confirm  this  statement.  The  Saviour  was  beyond 
his  sight,  and  the  only  thing  he  had  to  stand  upon 
was  circumstantial  evidences  and  faith.  Here 
stood  a  man  in  great  darkness;  he  took  chances  on 
surmounting  the  obstacle,  and  he  won.  The  next 
obstacle  he  had  to  overcome  was,  the  discouraging 
words  of  other  people.  At  the  top  of  his  voice  he 
persisted  in  crying  out  "Jesus  thou  son  of  David 
have  mercy  upon  me."  The  multitude  demanded 
that  this  man  be  kept  quiet.  He  was  asked  to  hold 
his  peace.  His  soul  was  set  upon  a  great  object 
and  a  high  ideal.  He  received  no  encouragement 
to  help  him  along.  He  only  heard  the  adverse 
criticism  of  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
With  his  trust  in  God,  he  knew  that  he  was  right, 
and  no  jeers  of  fellow  man  could  silence  him.  In 
the  face  of  obstacles,  he  held  his  ideal  before  him, 
he  surmounted  the  difficulties,  and  won  the  day. 
Still  another  obstacle  that  Bartimasus  had  to  sur- 
mount was:  to  surrender  his  opportunity  for  a 
large  collection  by  begging  from  the  multitude 
passing  by  on  this  special  occasion.  A  fourth  obsta- 
cle was,  that  in  his  darkness,  he  had  to  elbow  his 
way  through  the  multitude  intervening  between 
him  and  the  Saviour.  By  the  spirit  of  determina- 
tion, and  boundless  faith  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  he 
surmounted  all  these  obstacles  and  received  his 


First  Stage — Self-Sufficiency  25 

sight. 

The  Red  Sea;  a  vast  and  howling  wilderness; 
forty  years  of  wandering  and  extreme  privation, 
stood  between  Israel  and  the  "Promised  Land." 
They  had  to  be  surmounted,  or  the  Jordan  could 
not  be  crossed.  Paul  was  as  blind  to  the  propo- 
sition put  up  to  him  by  Jesus  Christ  as  was  this 
young  man  because  of  an  obstacle  that  intervened. 
But  when  the  scales  fell  from  his  eyes  on  the 
Damascus  road,  he  no  longer  had  any  trouble  in 
seeing  Jesus.  He  was  extremely  zealous  in  up- 
holding the  master  passion  of  his  life;  which  was 
fidelity  to  God  and  to  the  Old  Dispensation.  The 
proposition  of  Jesus  Christ  followed  him  where- 
ever  he  went.  He  was  conscientious,  but  he  could 
not  see ;  at  last  the  scales  were  removed,  and  now 
he  has  no  trouble  in  seeing  Jesus.  Spiritual  blind- 
ness is  caused  by  a  weakened  spiritual  will  power 
allowing  material  things  to  come  in  between  the 
soul  and  God.  This  was  identically  what  hap- 
pened the  young  man  who  came  to  Jesus  Christ 
asking  about  eternal  life.  An  obstacle  intervened 
and  he  did  not  have  the  power  to  surmount  it.  He 
was  satisfied  with  what  he  had.  He  could  not  see 
that  he  needed  anything  else.  He  remained  in  his 
condition  of  blindness,  and  is  eternally  lost. 

As  we  have  this  far  considered  the  young  man 
of  our  scripture  narrative,  we  behold  him  deeply 


26  Paying  the  Price 

embedded  in  the  idea  of  self-sufficiency.  He  was 
told  what  to  do,  but  he  could  not  see  clear  enough, 
to  enable  him  to  change  from  his  own  notions  and 
ideas.  He  had  made  one  thing  the  pivotal  point, 
and  master  passion  of  his  life,  and  he  could  not 
see  that  there  was  anything  else  in  all  the  world 
that  was  worthy  of  taking  the  place  of  that  one 
thing. 


THE  SECOND  STAGE 

SOMETHING  WANTING 

'T^HE  second  stage  in  this  young  man's  life 
was,  when  he  began  to  realize  that  there  was 
something  lacking.  This  was  the  most  fortunate 
moment  in  all  his  life.  He  no  doubt  was  the  son 
of  a  Pharisee  and  aimed  at  great  perfection  in  re- 
ligion. When  Jesus  Christ  told  him  to  keep  the 
commandments,  he  said:  "all  these  have  I  kept 
from  my  youth."  He  no  doubt,  was  following  the 
religious  teachings  of  his  day;  but  he  came  to  a 
time  when  he  felt  that  there  was  something  lacking 
in  the  routine  of  his  daily  life.  The  "Prodigal 
Son"  left  his  home  and  went  into  a  far  country, 
to  see  the  ways  of  the  world.  He  no  doubt 
thought  this  necessary  to  broaden  himself  beyond 
the  confines  of  a  Jewish  race,  and  to  becom.e  wise 
in  the  ways  of  the  world.  He  did  not  travel  far 
until  he  was  accosted  by  a  group  of  young  men 
who  informed  him  that  they  had  been  on  the  road 
a  long  time,  and  could  show  him  the  "ropes"  as 
very  few  could.  The  prodigal  had  departed  from 
the  example  of  religious  parents;  from  the  Bible 
and  prayer;  from  the  synagogue  and  the  sabbath; 
from  sacrificing  to  God;  and  from  giving  of  his 
worldly  possessions  to  the  cause  of  religion  and 
the  poor.  The  young  man  who  turns  his  back 
upon  all  these,  and  plunges  into  the  temptations 

27 


2  8  Paying  the  Price 

and  attractions  of  the  world,  must  possess  charac- 
ter of  extraordinary  strength  if  he  does  not  go 
the  way  that  the  Prodigal  was  led  into  by  his  new- 
ly found  associates.  With  great  recklessness  he 
wasted  the  portion  that  the  father  gave  him  until 
it  was  all  gone.  He  found  the  path  of  the  prod- 
igal to  be  extremely  gratifying  in  the  beginning, 
and  for  a  time;  but  that  the  end  thereof  was  mis- 
ery and  destruction.  He  woke  up  one  morning  to 
find  that  his  money  was  gone,  his  companions  gone 
back  on  him,  and  his  reputation  such  that  the  best 
young  people  did  not  care  to  associate  with  him. 
Like  "Lot"  standing  upon  the  outskirts  of  the 
burning  plain,  stripped  of  all  his  earthly  posses- 
sions; so  stood  he,  stripped  of  practically  all  that 
the  heavenly  and  earthly  fathers  had  endowed  him 
with.  He  joined  himself  to  a  citizen  of  that  "Far 
Country,"  who  sent  him  to  do  the  lowest  work  that 
a  Jew  could  be  called  upon  to  do;  to  feed  hogs, 
and  to  eat  the  husks  that  they  did  eat.  One  day, 
as  he  was  down  in  the  lowest  strata  of  human  ex- 
istence, he  came  to  himself,  and  realized  that  there 
was  something  lacking  in  his  life,  which  he  should 
possess.  The  most  fortunate  moment  in  a  young 
man's  life  is,  when  he  comes  to  himself,  and 
realizes  that  there  is  something  lacking  which  he 
should  possess.  Actuated  by  this  realization,  the 
prodigal  came  to  the  Father,  and  the  result  we 


The  Second  Stage — Something  IV anting     29 

know.  So  the  young  man  who  came  where  Jesus 
Christ  was  realized  that  there  was  something  lack- 
ing. 

A  young  man  stood  at  the  beginning  of  the 
journey  of  life.  The  morning  was  fair,  with 
splendid  indications  of  a  bright  day.  Friends  were 
upon  all  sides,  and  servants  in  attendance.  The 
road  seemed  paved  with  bricks  of  gold.  With  the 
awakening  of  the  grandest  elements  of  his  life,  the 
young  man  said:  I  shall  pursue,  and  never  cease, 
until  I  have  realized  the  crown  of  life.  Bidding 
farewell  to  friends  and  associations,  he  began  the 
journey  which  proved  so  hard  and  tedious.  He 
traveled  far,  and  into  many  avenues.  First  he 
saw,  at  some  distance  off  his  road,  standing  upon 
an  elevation,  a  palace  of  such  magnificence  and 
grandeur,  that  it  was  entirely  beyond  the  power  of 
the  human  mind  to  grasp,  and  of  human  words  to 
describe.  He  noticed  that  mostly  all  traveling 
this  road,  turned  aside  to  it.  Across  the  arch  of 
the  main  entrance  was  written,  in  letters  of  gold 
and  ivory,  the  word  "Pleasure."  The  lure  of  the 
palace  was  practically  beyond  the  power  of  the 
human  mind  to  reject.  He  must  enter,  for  here 
he  said,  I  may  find  the  crown  of  life.  He  was 
highly  welcomed,  and  the  servants  seemed  ex- 
tremely anxious.  All  the  inmates  of  this  place 
seemed  to  be  enjoying  themselves  to  the  full;  with 


30  Paying  the  Price 

the  exception  of  an  occasional  one,  who  seemed  to 
have  the  appearance  of  great  disappointment. 
They  had  gormandized  to  the  full  upon  the  en- 
tire contents  of  the  palace,  and  now  are  looking 
upon  it  all  in  disgust.  He  wonders  how  these 
things  can  be.  Upon  all  sides  were  pleasures  that 
ministered  to  all  the  senses.  Here  was  all  that  the 
ear  could  desire  in  exquisite  music,  and  rare 
sounds.  The  eye  fell  upon  the  great  master  pro- 
ductions of  the  world  in  art.  Woman  was  at  the 
height  of  her  glory,  and  he  wondered  if  some  were 
not  angels.  Choice  wines  flowed  in  great  abun- 
dance; and  all  the  base  inclinations  of  life  were 
gratified  to  the  full.  He  wondered  what  life  on 
earth  could  desire  more  than  this.  As  time  rolled 
on,  and  the  sparkling  lustre  that  dazzled  his  eyes 
at  the  beginning  began  to  fade,  he  recalled  the 
discontented  ones  whom  he  saw  there  at  the  be- 
ginning. He  informed  his  new  associates  that  he 
felt  that  there  was  something  lacking  in  his  life 
which  led  him  to  start  out;  and  which  he  thought 
the  palace  would  supply;  but  alas,  it  is  not  here. 
He  bade  them  farewell,  vowing  that  he  would 
never  again  return.  As  he  journeyed  on,  he  saw  a 
group  of  buildings,  all  of  ancient  architecture.  A 
man  at  the  entrance  thereto  beckoned  him  to  come 
this  way.  He  listened  to  the  call  and  entered  this 
institution  of  learning.     He  first  gained  a  master 


The  Second  Stage — Something  Wanting     3 1 

knowledge  of  the  surface  facts  of  the  world;  a 
complete  knowledge  of  astronomy,  and  of  the 
great  system  of  the  universe.  He  then  mastered  a 
knowledge  of  all  philosophies  and  theories,  reach- 
ing far  out  beyond  man's  knowledge  based  upon 
material  things.  He  familiarized  himself  with  all 
the  researches  of  the  scientific  w^orld.  He  went  in- 
to all  the  avenues  of  human  conduct.  He  searched 
theology  and  religious  knowledge  to  their  greatest 
depths.  And  at  last  that  he  might  have  a  perfect 
weapon  with  which  to  handle  all  his  knowledge,  he 
mastered  literature.  Surely,  he  said  this 
will  bring  me  to  the  pinnacle  of  life.  Time  rolled 
by.  The  walls  of  this  great  institution  be- 
gan to  grow  stale.  He  still  felt  that  there  was 
something  lacking  in  his  life ;  and  that  the  crown 
thereof  was  not  to  be  found  in  a  master  knowledge 
of  all  the  facts  of  the  universe.  He  journeyed  on. 
In  his  wandering,  he  discovered  that  man  had  es- 
tablished a  standard  of  value,  to  be  used  as  a 
means  of  exchange.  He  learned  that  the  great 
barrier  standing  between  man  and  possession  of 
the  things  of  this  w^orld  was  a  lack  of  this  means 
of  exchange.  He  reasoned  that  if  he  had  abun- 
dance of  this  means  of  exchange,  he  could  procure 
whatever  he  desired  of  the  things  of  life.  He  set 
himself  to  the  accumulation  of  wealth.  He  was 
extremely  successful;  and  became  wealthy.     Now 


32  Paying  the  Price 

he  said,  there  is  nothing  in  life  but  what  I  can  get. 
He  called  about  him  a  great  council  of  advisors  to 
assist  him  in  securing  everything  that  money  could 
buy  to  make  life  complete.  Under  these  conditions 
he  lived  for  a  time.  Again  there  is  a  vacancy  which 
this  abundance  cannot  supply.  He  dismissed  every 
one  of  his  advisors  saying,  "miserable  councillors 
are  you  all."  He  learned  the  sad  lesson  that  the 
crown  of  life  could  not  be  bought.  He  journeyed 
on.  Night  overtook  him.  He  strolled  down  a 
lane  to  a  light  in  the  window  of  a  house  at  the 
foot  of  a  hill.  The  night  was  wet  and  disagree- 
able. The  sound  of  the  rain  and  the  moaning 
wind  reminded  him  of  misery  on  the  outside, 
while  within  all  was  cheerful  and  pleasant.  The 
door  was  responded  to  by  the  master  of  the  house, 
who  greeted  him  with  a  smile  and  a  hearty  hand- 
shake. He  introduced  himself  as  a  wandering 
stranger,  going  up  and  down  the  earth,  seeking  the 
crown  of  life ;  for  he  had  long  since  realized  that 
there  was  something  lacking  in  his  life.  This  home 
happened  to  be  one  of  those  in  which  the  shadow 
of  heaven  came  down  to  earth.  The  children  en- 
gaged in  their  games  and  fun,  while  the  older  peo- 
ple discussed  the  current  topics  of  the  day.  Then, 
all  engaged  in  the  singing  of  popular  songs,  and 
sacred  music.  Then,  came  the  kneeling  at  the  fam- 
ily altar  for  divine  worship;  followed  by  an  ex- 


The  Second  Stage — Soinething  Wanting     33 

change  of  "Goodnlghts,"  as  all  retired  to  the 
peaceful  slumbers  of  nature.  The  young  man  was 
so  Impressed  with  the  blessedness  of  the  situation, 
that  he  felt,  that  perhaps  after  all  the  crown  of 
life  was  a  home  on  earth,  let  down  out  of  heaven 
from  God.  So,  he  established  one  of  his  own. 
Happiness  reigned  upon  all  sides  as  the  years 
rolled  by.  Loving  innocent  children  climbed  upon 
his  back,  ran  to  meet  him  in  the  street  when  they 
saw  him  coming,  and  was  greeted  at  the  door  by 
a  modest  loving  wife,  who  was  the  music  and 
poetry  of  the  home.  All  the  sorrows  and  worries 
of  his  dealings  with  a  hard  commercial  world  were 
drowned  in  the  glories  of  a  little  paradise  upon 
earth.  As  he  from  time  to  time  contemplated  this 
scene,  he  was  impressed  to  the  last  degree  with  the 
glories  of  a  heaven  blessed  home.  He  asked: 
what  lack  I  yet;  a  voice  whispered  down  the  aisles 
of  his  soul :  nothing.  In  his  haste  he  said:  I  have 
found  the  crown  of  life.  But  alas,  the  scene  is 
changed,  as  the  years  rolled  on  with  the  pendelum 
of  time.  He  felt  that  there  was  still  something 
lacking.  Accompanied  by  his  wife  and  family,  he 
resumed  the  journey.  They  traveled  over  many 
and  wearysome  roads.  At  last  he  arrived  at  a 
place  called  Mount-Sinai.  Here  he  learned  of 
Moses  and  the  prophets;  and  discovered  a  people 
with  the  greatest  system  of  religious  ethics  that  the 


34  Paying  the  Price 

world  ever  heard  of.    He  said,  perhaps,  the  crown 
of  life  is  to  be  found  by  living  under  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments of  Moses.     He  studied  the  teachings, 
and  fundamental  principles  of  the  Old  Testament, 
until  he  was  recognized  as  an  expert  in  this  line. 
He  lived  and  practiced  this  knowledge  hoping  that 
it  would  bring  to  him  the  yearning  of  his  soul. 
Time  rolled  on,   and  his  life  seemed  contented. 
But,  he  eventually  began  to  realize  that  the  founda- 
tion was  decaying  from  underneath  this  structure ; 
and  again  he  began  to  realize  that  his  efforts  were 
all  in  vain.    He  learned  of  a  man  who  came  from 
Galilee,  and  startled  the  world  by  his  marvelous 
deeds.     He  taught  that  His  mission  to  the  world 
was,  to  supply  the  needs  of  humanity,  and  give 
eternal  life.    This  young  man  came  running  where 
He  was  crying  out:  "what  must  I  do  to  inherit 
eternal  life."     The  Nazarene  looked  upon  him 
with  a  smile,   and  said,  you  have  been  seeking 
through  the  wrong  avenues;  you  have  depended 
too  much  upon  your  own  strength.     Your  life  has 
been  a  success.    Your  record  demands  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world;  but  you  missed  the  path  that 
leads  to  those  mountain  peaks,  which  will  give 
man  the  greatest  glories  of  this  world;  and  enable 
him  to  develop  into  intellectual  attainments  above 
his  day  and  generation.      Sell  all  that  you   are 
holding  on  to,  and  upon  which  you  are  building, 


The  Second  Stage — Something  Wanting     35 

and  come  and  follow  me,  and  you  shall  surely  find 
the  crov/n  of  life.  He  looked  back  over  his  ac- 
cumulations, and  great  earthly  possessions.  He 
answered,  No.  He  gave  up  the  search.  He  now 
spent  the  balance  of  his  days  in  seclusion,  ever 
feeling  that  there  was  something  lacking  in  his 
life.  He  died,  and  never  realized  the  crown  of 
life,  because,  he  refused  to  pay  the  price. 

When  chill  November's  surly  blast 

Made  fields  and  forests  bare, 

One  evening,  as  I  wandered  forth 

Along  the  banks  of  Ayr, 

I  spied  a  man  whose  aged  step 

Seemed  weary  worn  with  care; 

His  face  was  furrowed  o'er  with  years, 

And  hoary  was  his  hair. 

Young  stranger,  whither  wanderest  thou? 

Began  the  reverend  sage; 

Does  thirst  of  wealth  thy  step  constrain, 

Or  youthful  pleasure's  rage? 

Or  haply,  prest  with  cares  and  woes. 

Too  soon  thou  hast  begun 

To  wander  forth  with  me  to  mourn 

The  miseries  of  man. 

O  man!  while  in  thy  early  years. 
How  prodigal  of  time! 
Misspending  all  thy  precious  hours, 
Thy  glorious  youthful  prime! 
Alternate  follies  take  the  sway; 
Licentious  passions  burn; 
Which  tenfold  force  gives  nature's  law, 
That  man  was  made  to  mourn. 


36  Paying  the  Price 

Look  not  alone  on  youthful  prime, 

Or  manhood's  active  might; 

Man  then  is  useful  to  his  kind, 

Supported  is  his  right: 

But  see  him  on  the  edge  of  life, 

With  cares  and  sorrows  worn; 

Then  age  and  want — oh !  ill-matched  pair ! — 

Show  man  was  made  to  mourn. 

Many  and  sharp  the  numerous  ills 

Inwoven  with  our  frame! 

More  pointed  still  we  make  ourselves — 

Regret,  remorse,  and  shame! 

And  man,  whose  heaven-erected  face 

The  smiles  of  love  adorn, 

Man's  inhumanity  to  man 

Makes  countless  thousands  mourn! 

If  I'm  designed  yon  lordling's  slave — 

By  nature's  law  designed — 

Why  was  an  independent  wish 

E'er  planted  in  my  mind? 

If  not,  why  am  I  subject  to 

His  cruelty  or  scorn? 

Or  why  has  man  the  will  and  power 

To  make  his  fellow  mourn? 

Yet,  let  not  this  too  much  my  son, 

Disturb  thy  youthful  breast; 

This  partial  view  of  humankind 

Is  surely  not  the  last! 

The  poor,  oppressed,  honest  man, 

Had  never,  sure,  been  born, 

Had  there  not  been  some  recompense 

To  comfort  those  that  mourn. 

— Robert  Burns, 


THE  THIRD  STAGE 

A  VISION  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE 

T^HE  third  stage  in  this  young  man's  life  was, 
-''  when  he  came  to  Jesus  Christ  inquiring.  His 
realization  of  something  lacking,  became  central- 
ized upon  a  vision  of  eternal  life;  and  he  came 
running  to  Jesus  Christ  for  help.  "What  must  I 
do  to  inherit  eternal  life."  I  have  a  clear  vision  of 
its  importance,  and  I  wish  you  would  show  me  the 
way.  He  was  aroused  from  his  condition  of 
blindness  to  feel  that  there  was  something  lacking; 
and  then  he  saw  eternal  life  looming  up  before 
him  as  a  vision  in  the  night.  It  was  this  vision 
that  actuated  him  to  come  to  Jesus  Christ  inquir- 
ing. A  large  amount  of  the  failures  of  life  is  due, 
not  so  much  to  man's  inability  to  see;  but  to  his 
neglect  of  moving  to  action  when  he  does  see 
clearly  and  with  conviction.  It  was  the  power  of 
vision,  moved  to  action  that  enabled  Joseph  to 
hear  the  rattling  of  the  bones,  and  see  the  giant 
of  famine  stalking  through  the  land;  and  moved 
him  to  make  the  necessary  preparation  for  the  fu- 
ture seven  years  of  want.  It  was  this  power  of 
vision  that  enabled  Isaiah  to  look  down  over  the 
flats  of  seven  centuries,  and  there  in  the  dawn  of 

37 


38  Paying  the  Price 

a  new  era  in  civilization,  like  the  rays  of  the  morn- 
ing sun  beheld  the  effulgent  glories  of  the  Redeem- 
er of  the  world,  the  saviour  of  men,  and  the  Son  of 
God.  He  was  moved  to  action,  as  no  one  could 
only  he  who  had  the  weight  of  an  enormous  vision 
pressing  down  upon  him.  It  was  the  power  of  vi- 
sion that  enabled  Moses  to  refuse  to  be  called  the 
son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  choose  affliction 
with  the  people  of  God;  for  by  vision  he  was  able 
to  look  beyond  the  murky  Jordan  of  death,  and 
there  behold  the  land  streaming  with  milk  and 
honey.  It  was  the  power  of  vision  that  enabled 
Daniel  to  triumph,  resist  temptation,  and  bidding 
defiance  to  the  worshipper  of  the  Babylonian  gods 
meditatively  walked  to  his  humble  place  of  abode 
and  with  a  vision  filling  his  soul  of  the  land  be- 
yond the  desert,  prayed  to  the  great  God  of  the 
universe,  with  his  face  set  towards  Jerusalem.  It 
was  the  power  of  vision  moved  to  action,  that  en- 
abled Solomon  to  go  five  days  journey  from 
Damascus  into  the  Syrian  desert,  and  there  in  the 
face  of  towering  obstacles,  built  the  city  of  "Tad- 
more."  With  the  burning  sun  of  the  desert  pour- 
ing down  upon  him;  the  clouds  of  sand  blowing 
about  him ;  no  water  nor  timber  In  sight,  he  built 
this  magnificent  city.  Going  on  three  thousand 
years  In  the  future,  excavations  of  the  ruins  of  that 
city,  show  its  towers,  pillars  and  temples  to  be  next 


The  Third  Stage — Vision  of  Eternal  Life  39 

to  the  master  architecture  of  Greece  and  Rome. 
In  the  great  desert  of  life,  will  your  vision  and  re- 
sponse thereto,  be  such  as  to  enable  you  to  build 
such  a  magnificent  temple,  that  in  the  years  to 
come  the  rising  generations  will  look  to  the  ruins 
of  a  mighty  life  that  was  lived  centuries  in  the 
past,  and  be  able  to  say, — well  done.  It  was  the 
power  of  a  noble  vision,  and  pursuit  of  the  same, 
that  enabled  Abraham  Lincoln  to  throw  down  the 
tripod  and  transit,  that  he  might  be  enabled  to  con- 
vince the  world  that  a  naiton  was  conceiv^ed  in  lib- 
erty, and  dedicated  to  the  proposition,  that  all  men 
were  created  equal.  I  am  impressed  by  the  splen- 
did vision  that  this  young  man  had  of  something 
beyond  this  world,  and  the  effort  he  put  forth  in 
pursuing  the  same,  only  to  fail  because  of  the  ob- 
stacle he  encountered. 

Young  man;  in  the  pursuit  of  vision,  you  will 
have  three  factors  to  contend  with.  The  first  of 
these  is,  fellow  man.  Remember  the  adverse  in- 
fluence of  life's  unworthy  associates.  The  shores 
of  time  are  strewn  with  human  wrecks,  that  once 
had  bright  prospects  for  the  future,  but  because  of 
unworthy  association  never  attained  to  the  noble 
ideals  they  had  set  up  as  the  goal  and  object  of 
their  lives.  The  second  factor  is  the  personal 
equation,  or  self.  Guard  against  unworthy  per- 
sonal inclinations,  and  improper  worldly  tenden- 


40  Paying  the  Price 

cies.  Here  Is  where  the  downfall  of  this  young 
man  took  place.  The  third  factor  you  will  have 
to  reckon  with  is,  the  divine.  You  will  encounter 
Him,  not  in  the  whirlwind,  and  the  storms  of  life, 
but  through  the  whisperings  of  that  still  small 
voice  in  the  aisles  of  the  soul.  Guard  against  go- 
ing upon  the  wings  of  vision  into  the  land  of  fancy. 
Make  sure  that  the  inclinations  of  your  soul  are 
well  founded.  Consult  reliable  authorities.  So- 
licit the  opinion  of  worthy  friends;  and  sift  the 
matter  out  between  your  own  soul  and  God  before 
you  start.  A  dog  while  crossing  a  bridge  looked 
over  into  the  clear  water  below.  There  it  saw  the 
shadow  of  a  bone  carried  in  its  own  mouth.  This 
dog  was  ambitious,  and  plunged  into  the  water  to 
grasp  the  second  bone;  and  in  doing  so  dropped 
the  one  it  had.  It  swam  to  the  shore  wet,  drip- 
ping, and  disappointed.  There  it  sat  upon  the 
bank  whining  for  the  lost  bone.  It  now  realized 
that  it  had  lost  the  real  bone  while  grasping  at  a 
shadow.  A  child  standing  by  its  mother  saw  a 
beautiful  rainbow  in  the  heavens.  It  vehemently 
demanded  of  the  mother  to  give  it  the  rainbow. 
The  mother  tried  to  reason  with  the  child,  but  all 
efforts  failed,  as  the  child  was  bent  on  receiving 
the  rainbow  to  play  with.  She  called  upon  the 
maid,  to  bring  its  playthings ;  but  the  weeping  child 
hurled  them  all  down,  and  cried  for  the  rainbow. 


The  Third  Stage — Vision  of  Eternal  Life  41 

The  mother  called  for  its  diamond  studded  brace- 
let, which  the  child  was  taught  to  highly  value ;  but 
it  was  flung  to  the  floor,  and  the  child  cried  itself 
to  sleep  in  the  mother's  arms,  because  she  would 
not  give  it  the  rainbow  to  play  with.  Had  that 
child  the  power  to  travel  through  space,  it  would 
come  to  the  regions  of  the  rainbow,  and  upon  try- 
ing to  grasp  it,  would  learn  that  it  was  nothing  but 
vapor;  and  that  the  vision  from  a  distance  was 
entirely  misleading.  Make  sure  before  you  start. 
This  young  man  who  came  to  Jesus  Christ  stood 
upon  the  solid  foundation  when  he  had  a  clear  vi- 
sion of,  and  an  eager  desire  to  possess  eternal  life. 
In  his  past  life,  and  even  yet  to  an  injurious  extent, 
he  had  been  grasping  for  the  shadow;  and  build- 
ing upon  the  rainbow  colors  of  abundant  worldly 
possessions.  Sad  as  the  tragic  ending  of  this 
young  man's  life  was,  yet,  we  must  give  him  credit 
for  a  time  in  his  life  when  he  soared  to  the  most 
sublime  elevations  thereof  and  had  a  clear  vision 
of  the  importance  of  eternal  life.  The  noblest 
ideal  of  a  man's  life  is,  a  clear  vision  of  the  glor- 
ies of  eternity,  with  an  eager  spirit  to  pursue  the 
same. 

Let  the  young  man  realize  that,  while  with  the 
swift  stream  of  time  the  rolling  years  are  receding, 
never  to  rise  again,  the  world  is  marching  on 
towards  a  transformation  that  shall  constitute  a 


42  Payi7ig  the  Price 

new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness;  and  In  the  ages  to  come,  there  shall 
arise  a  generation  that  shall  look  upon  the  lamb 
lying  down  with  the  wolf,  the  sword  beaten  into 
plough  shares,  and  the  sun  of  righteousness  shin- 
ing never  to  set  again.  Then  standing  upon  the 
shores  of  eternity,  robed  in  dazzling  white,  then 
with  glorified  pride  in  your  heart,  and  praises  to 
God  upon  your  lips,  as  you  look  down  over  ages, 
be  able  to  say :  thank  God  for  the  vision  He  gave 
me  of  eternal  life,  which  led  me  to  fight  a  good 
fight,  run  a  good  race,  and  to  finish  the  work  He 
gave  me  to  do.  Now  there  is  a  crown  of  glory 
for  me  to  wear  through  the  eternities  that  are  to 
roll  on  and  on,  never,  no  never  to  end. 


THE  FOURTH  STAGE 

ONE  THING  LACKING 

'  I  ''HE  fourth  stage  in  this  young  man's  life  was, 
^  when  Jesus  told  him  that  there  was  one  thing 
lacking.  Already,  the  young  man  felt  that  there 
was  something  wanting,  and  this  led  him  to  come 
to  Jesus.  He  felt  the  excellencies  of  his  earthly 
qualifications;  but  realized  that  he  did  not  possess 
that  which  Jesus  Christ  was  advocating  for  lost 
humanity,  and  a  world  in  distress.  He  felt  that  he 
did  not  possess  the  essential  qualifications  to  pos- 
sess the  eternal  life  which  the  Saviour  was  advo- 
cating; and  so  he  came  running,  and  asking  what 
must  I  do  to  inherit  the  same.  Jesus  seeing  the 
extent  of  his  earthly  accumulations;  the  splendid 
qualifications  of  his  character,  the  impulse  of  his 
soul  for  eternal  life ;  seeing  him  so  near,  and  yet  so 
far;  looking  "upon  him,"  the  divine  eye  piercing 
into  the  deepest  recesses  of  his  soul;  loved  him, 
and  with  the  smile  of  affection,  said:  "one  thing 
thou  lackest."  To  the  eyes  of  the  outside  world, 
he  was  a  model  young  man.  The  Hebrew  stand- 
ard of  morality,  and  religion  was  the  highest  that 
the  world  ever  heard  of  outside  of  Christianity. 
When  all  the  great  fundamental  principles  thereof 
were  presented  to  this  young  man,  he  was  able  to 

43 


44  Paying  the  Price 

say:  "all  these  have  I  kept  from  my  youth,  what 
lack  I  yet."  As  we  travel  along  the  Bible  path 
from  Genesis  to  Revelation;  when  we  approach 
this  young  man  we  are  startled  to  find  in  him  an- 
other victim  of,  the  Bible  tragedy  of  the  one  thing 
lacking.  Away  back  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  man 
is  living  with  his  life  fashioned  after  that  of  the 
eternal  God.  Everything  is  paradise,  and  nothing 
is  lacking.  In  a  short  time  we  find  that  the  scene 
is  changed,  and  man  is  driven  from  the  garden. 
Over  the  ages,  and  out  into  the  vast  expanse  of 
time,  we  behold  man  struggling.  We  see  strife 
and  contention  in  operation  upon  all  sides.  Pain, 
sorrow  and  death  are  found  to  be  so  indelibly 
written  into  the  constitution  of  man,  that  pessimis- 
tic philosophers  in  ages  past  concluded,  "that  man 
was  made  to  mourn."  Famine  and  pestilence 
periodically  arise ;  bloody  wars  mow  down  the  hu- 
man race  from  time  to  time.  We  ask  for  the  cause 
of  all  this  woe  and  misery  in  the  world;  the  answer 
comes  down  the  pathway  of  the  centuries — one 
thing  lacking  in  the  Garden  of  Eden. 

Moses — the  great  progenitor  of  the  Hebrew 
race,  is  called  upon  to  go  down  into  Egypt  and 
liberate  the  great  Hebrew  race  from  slavery,  and 
extreme  bondage.  He  was  an  instrument  in  the 
hand  of  the  eternal  God.  He  performed  miracles. 
He  led  Israel  through  the  Red  Sea ;  and  surmount- 


The  Fourth  Stage — One  Thing  Lacking     45 

ed  the  extraordinary  difficulties  peculiar  to  the  life 
of  a  nation  wandering  in  a  wilderness  for  nearly 
half  a  century.    His  life  was  a  model  for  the  ages 
to  come.     He  stands  out  with  great  prominence 
as  the  most  towering  figure  in  a  period  of  four 
thousand  years.    The  one  goal  and  great  desire  of 
his  life  was,  that  he  would  be  permitted  to  cross 
the  Jordan,  and  see  the  ''promised  land."     As  he 
came  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Jordan,  and  the  end 
of  his  life  approaching,  he  went  up  into  a  moun- 
tain peak,  where  he  could  see  the  "promised  land" 
over  to  the  Mediterranean  sea,  and  there  we  hear 
him  pleading  with  God  saying: — "I  pray  thee,  let 
me  go  over  and  see  the  land  that  is  beyond  the 
Jordan;   that   goodly   mountain,    and   Lebanon." 
God  refused  this  earnest  pleading  of  his  great  ser- 
vant.   Why?  because  there  was  one  thing  lacking 
in  his  past  life;  and  that  scar  in  the  life  of  Moses 
could  never  be  healed,   so  as  to  enable  him  to 
achieve  the  grandest  ideal  of  all  his  life.    We  be- 
hold this  sorrowful  spectacle  in  the  life  of  one  of 
the  towering  figures  of  the  ages,  and  we  lament  the 
Bible  tragedy  of  the  one  thing  lacking. 

David;  we  read,  was  a  man  after  God's  own 
heart.  Yet,  subject  to  the  infirmities  and  weak- 
nesses of  human  life.  In  the  first  part  of  his  ca- 
reer, we  find  the  great  subject  which  we  may  well 
call : — The  Ascending  Glory  of  David's  Life.  The 


46  Paying  the  Price 

first  step  in  this  ascending  glory  was,  David's  su- 
preme faithfulness  to  the  reality.  He  would  not 
tolerate  insult  and  defiance  to  the  armies  of  the 
living  God.  He  accepts  the  challenge  of  the  Phil- 
istine giant;  and  when  the  victory  was  won,  he  de- 
clined the  honor  that  a  nation  in  distress  would  be- 
stow upon  a  successful  general.  He  preferred 
placing  the  glory  where  it  rightfully  belonged,  in 
order  to  convince  the  world  that  the  God  of  Israel 
was  the  supreme  God. 

When  Saul's  wonderful  armor  was  placed  upon 
him,  he  declined  to  wear  it,  saying,  that  it  was  un- 
tried, artificial,  and  not  what  God  intended  for 
him  to  wear.  Thus  showing  his  fidelity  to  reality. 
The  second  step  in  the  ascending  glory  of  David's 
life  was,  the  supreme  tie  of  friendship  which  bound 
him  and  Jonathan  together.  We  look  over  the 
annals  of  titne,  and  through  the  pages  of  history 
for  great  instances  of  true  fellowship,  but  novv^here 
do  v/e  find  a  more  subline  example  of  true  friend- 
ship than  that  which  bound  David  and  Jonathan 
together.  A  third  step  in  this  ascending  glory, 
was,  the  noble  spirit  of  the  desert.  The  enemy 
boiling  from  the  spirit  of  revenge,  is  pursuing 
David's  life.  He  fled  to  the  desert.  He  declined  an 
opportunity  for  a  civil  war  in  the  nation.  Here 
the  depths  of  his  soul  yearned  for  the  water  of 
the  "well  of  Bethlehem  which  is  by  the  gate." 


The  Fourth  Stage — One  Thing  Lacking     47 

When  this  water  was  brought  to  him,  he  poured  it 
out  as  a  libation  to  God;  showing  that  there  was 
nothing  in  life  so  dear  to  him  as  to  stand  between 
his  soul  and  God.  Here,  while  he  was  being  pur- 
sued by  his  enemy,  who  would  not  hesitate  for  a 
moment  to  take  his  life  with  the  first  opportunity; 
David  refrained  from  drawing  his  sword  for  the 
destruction  of  this  arch  enemy  on  two  different  oc- 
casions. The  last  step  in  the  ascending  glory  of 
David's  life  was,  when  he  was  lifted  to  the  sublime 
position  of  king  of  the  united  realm  of  all  Israel; 
and  the  noble  incidents  associated  with  that  reign. 
We  thus  scan  his  life  as  he  is  scaling  the  heights  of 
honor,  glory,  and  fame.  As  v/e  view  this  picture 
of  a  great  and  a  successful  life,  we  ask  the  ques- 
tion: was  there  anything  lacking  in  the  life  of 
David.  Alas,  the  scene  is  changed,  and  we  behold 
David  descending  from  these  glorious  heights  of 
life;  and  we  shall  ultimately  find  that  the  decline 
and  fall  of  David's  life  was  due  to  "one  thing 
lacking."  Here  our  attention  may  be  directed  to 
The  Fading  Glory  of  David's  Life.  By  one  act, 
he  is  guilty  of  a  treacherous  murder;  of  humiliat- 
ing a  woman;  of  invading  the  sacred  precincts  of 
a  home;  and  of  lifting  his  hand  in  the  most  base 
manner  against  a  true  friend.  In  the  fading  glory 
of  David's  life;  our  attention  is  directed,  first  to 
the  awful  tragedy  of  a  stupefied  and  an  unwakened 


48  Paying  the  Price 

conscience.  The  deed  he  was  about  to  commit  was 
the  very  incarnation  of  baseness  and  brutality. 
Yet,  David's  conscience  was  stupefied  and  unawak- 
ened.  The  fading  glory  of  his  life  was  also  due, 
to  the  abiding  consequences  of  God's  broken  laws. 
A  prophet  is  sent  to  break  the  news  to  David; 
and  to  remove  the  scales  from  his  eyes.  He  saw 
the  error  of  his  way;  but  it  was  too  late.  The 
deed  was  done,  and  retribution  must  follow  such 
a  base  violation  of  the  laws  of  heaven.  Earth 
moistened  with  overflowing  tears  of  repentance, 
may  secure  man  and  God's  forgiveness;  but  the 
mighty  oceans  dried  up,  and  their  great  depths 
filled  to  the  brim  with  the  briny  tears  of  sorrow, 
can  never  undo  the  deed,  nor  remove  the  stain. 
The  scar  remains.  Years  ago,  a  hunter  at  the 
dawn  of  day  found  himself  seated  in  a  lonely  val- 
ley among  the  distant  hills.  It  was  at  that  season 
of  the  year,  when  the  wild  geese  migrated  from 
the  north  to  the  south.  Upon  former  occasions, 
they  were  known  to  alight  in  this  secluded  place. 
To  his  delight,  the  hunter's  eye  fell  upon  a  lonely 
goose.  The  bird  was  shot ;  and  upon  examination, 
it  was  found  to  have  had  at  one  time  a  broken 
wing.  Perhaps,  the  mother  goose  trampled  upon 
it  while  it  was  a  little  gooselet  in  the  nest.  Nature 
pursued  its  course,  and  the  wing  was  healed;  but, 
alas  the  scar  was  left.    In  the  coming  years,  when 


The  Fourth  Stage — One  Thing  Lacking     49 

the  time  arrived  for  the  flight  to  the  sunny  lands  of 
the  south,  this  bird  was  unable  to  follow  its  com- 
panions, and  fell  by  the  wayside,  because  of  the 
once  broken  pinion.  David  repented,  but  the  scar 
was  left.  He  died  as  the  fool  dieth,  with  vanity 
of  vanities  written  upon  all  his  past  glories.  In  him 
we  behold  the  falling  of  beauty  into  darkness,  and 
of  glory  into  dust.  We  behold  the  awful  conse- 
quence of  a  single  sinful  desire  and  we  have  our  at- 
tention vividly  directed  to  the  Bible  tragedy  of  the 
one  thing  lacking. 

On  Tuesday  evening  of  the  Passion  week,  Jesus 
is  resting  upon  the  Mount  of  Olives.  He  is  sur- 
rounded by  His  Disciples.  He  is  giving  them  in- 
structions concerning  the  judgment,  and  His  sec- 
ond coming.  Here  the  parable  of  the  ten  Virgins 
was  given.  Its  purpose  was  to  show  them  how  in- 
adequate a  full,  and  almost  perfect  preparation 
would  prove,  should  it  be  found  that  there  was  one 
thing  lacking.  The  scene  is  that  of  an  oriental 
marriage.  Ten  virgins  had  made  special  prepara- 
tion for  attending  the  great  festivities  of  the  mar- 
riage. They  must  have  torches,  and  oil  to  supply 
them  when  burning.  They  all  made  what  seemed 
to  be  every  necessary  preparation;  and  left  their 
homes  for  the  direction  from  which  the  bride- 
groom was  to  come.  We  are  told  that  the  bride- 
groom tarried;  and  that  the  virgins  slumbered  and 


so  Paying  the  Price 

slept,  while  the  torches  were  left  burning.  We  are 
told  that  five  of  these  virgins  were  wise,  while  the 
other  five  were  foolish.  Wherein  consisted  the 
foolishness  of  the  five  virgins?  In  that  there  was 
one  thing  lacking  in  their  extensive  preparation. 
This  was  the  lesson  that  Jesus  desired  to  impress 
upon  the  minds  of  His  disciples.  These  ten  vir- 
gins were  all  alike  in  that  they  all  made  great  prep- 
aration. They  all  had  the  same  desire  to  honor 
the  bridegroom.  They  all  had  the  same  outward 
appearance  of  having  made  the  same  preparation. 
They  all  slumbered  and  slept;  and  they  all  went 
the  same  distance  to  meet  the  honored  guest.  But 
when  the  hour  of  the  true  testing  arrived,  it  was 
found  that  in  the  preparation  of  the  foolish  Vir- 
gins, there  was  one  thing  lacking.  They  hastened 
to  adjust  the  neglect,  and  then  hastened  to  the 
great  marriage  feast;  but  alas,  the  doors  were 
shut,  and  down  over  the  centuries  rings  the  sad 
anthem,  as  a  warning  to  all  generations — late,  late 
too  late,  you  cannot  enter  now.  As  we  read  this 
sad  narrative,  our  attention  is  again  riveted  upon 
the  Bible  tragedy  of  the  one  thing  lacking. 

In  the  third  chapter  of  John's  gospel,  we  have 
the  narrative  concerning  "Nicodemus."  A  man 
greatly  confounded  by  the  perplexities  of  the  new 
principles  of  righteousness  propounded  by  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.     This  man  was  a  great  ad- 


The  Fourth  Stage — One  Thing  Lacking     5 1 

herent  to  the  principles  of  righteousness  as  advo- 
cated by  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  He  was  a 
man  of  high  standards,  and  excellent  qualifica- 
tions; and  like  the  young  man  of  our  narrative,  he 
came  to  Jesus  by  night  inquiring  about  eternal  life. 
In  Nicodemus,  we  have  a  man  who,  when  all  was 
ended  in  the  Saviour's  career,  came  with  a  compan- 
ion and  took  down  the  body  of  Jesus  from  the 
Cross,  and  placed  it  in  the  tomb.  In  him,  we  have 
before  us  a  man  who  saw  in  Jesus  the  greatest  of 
all  teachers,  and  firmly  believed  that  he  was  sent 
from  God.  In  him  we  have  a  man  who,  when  na- 
ture was  robed  in  the  darkness  of  night,  the  earth 
baptized  with  the  dew  from  the  star-bespangled 
heavens;  the  silence  of  nature  broken  only  by  the 
note  of  the  Whip-poor-will  upon  the  banks  of  the 
distant  Jordan,  came  across  the  hills  of  Palestine 
that  he  might  be  able  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  and 
grasp  His  mysterious  teachings  concerning  eternal 
life.  In  him  we  have  a  member  of  the  highest 
ecclesiastical  Jewish  court;  and  thus  occupying  a 
first  place  in  the  church  of  his  day.  In  him  we  have 
a  man  highly  educated,  for  he  must  know  the  Bible 
with  great  exactness,  or  he  could  not  be  a  member 
of  that  court.  In  him  we  have  a  great  reformer; 
standing  for  equity,  justice,  and  right;  for  he  said 
"doth  our  court  condemn  a  man  without  being 
tried."     Yet  notwithstanding  all  these  excellent 


52  Paying  the  Price 

qualifications,  we  hear  Jesus  saying  unto  him: 
verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  you  are  lost,  you  must 
be  born  again.  The  Bible  tragedy  of  the  one  thing 
lacking. 

It  is  a  matter  of  maritime  record,  that  some 
time  ago,  the  captain  of  a  passenger  ship,  while  in 
mid-ocean,  discovered  that  his  vessel  was  on  fire 
beyond  control.  A  great  storm  was  raging.  He 
at  once  sent  out  the  distress  signal.  All  ships  with- 
in a  reasonable  distance,  picking  up  this  signal, 
hastened  to  the  rescue.  Before  dusk,  eleven  great 
ocean  liners  were  assembled  about  the  burning 
ship;  but  the  storm  rendered  them  helpless.  At- 
tempts were  made  to  lower  boats  from  the  burn- 
ing ship,  but  these  were  smashed,  and  the  occu- 
pants were  drowned.  Rafts,  were  sent  adrift  from 
the  surrounding  ships,  but  these  missed  the  mark, 
and  hope  was  lost  again.  A  boat  from  one  of  the 
rescue  ships,  heroically  battled  with  the  waves  for 
three  and  a  half  hours,  but  was  compelled  to  re- 
turn with  only  three  oars  intact.  One  hundred  and 
twenty-five  lives  were  lost  in  attempting  to  get 
away  from  the  burning  ship.  All  night,  the  re- 
maining five  hundred  were  huddled  in  the  bow  of 
the  ship  with  the  fire  which  meant  death,  creeping 
towards  them  inch  by  inch.  The  situation  was  des- 
perate. One  man  was  seen  to  kiss  his  wife  and 
children,  and  then  threw  them  overboard;  then, 


The  Fourth  Stage — One  Thing  Lacking     53 

throwing  up  his  hands,  he  was  seen  to  hurl  himself 
to  instant  death,  among  the  angry  waves.  Here 
was  gathered  the  finest  collection  of  ocean  liners, 
ever  assembled  in  mid-ocean.  Here  was  assem- 
bled the  greatest  rescue  equipment  ever  gathered 
about  a  burning  ship  far  out  at  sea.  Yet,  this  great 
equipment  stood  by  helpless,  lamenting  that  there 
was  one  thing  lacking.  That  one  thing  was,  Oil, 
to  calm  the  turbulent  sea.  Early  in  the  scene,  a 
wireless  call  was  sent  broadcast  for  an  ocean 
"tanker."  The  answer  came  back  that  she  was 
coming.  With  the  break  of  day,  the  oil  ship  was 
seen  upon  the  horizon.  Arriving  upon  the  scene; 
her  pumps  were  turned  on  full  force.  In  a  short 
time,  the  sea  around  the  burning  ship  was  calm; 
and  the  five  hundred  were  easily  rescued.  The 
equipment  of  life,  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  a  great 
emergency,  may  be  the  very  incarnation  of  perfec- 
tion; and  yet,  prove  helpless,  if  the  one  great  es- 
sential thing  is  lacking. 

The  young  man  of  our  narrative  is  an  outstand- 
ing example,  and  a  warning  to  all  followers  of 
Jesus  Christ;  as  well  as  to  all  religious  organiza- 
tions; and  to  all  young  men  in  the  journey  of  life; 
to  guard  against  model  equipment  with  the  one 
thing  lacking.  We  would  all  do  well  to  pause  and 
profoundly  meditate  upon  the  great  lesson  that 
the  wise  book  is  designed  to  convey  to  us  in  its 


54  Paying  the  Price 

great  tragedy  of  the  one  thing  lacking.  "Jesus 
looking  upon  him,  loved  him,  and  said,  one  thing 
thou  lackest." 


THE  FIFTH  STAGE 

CHRIST  IN  THE  BALANCE 

I  ''HE  fifth  stage  in  this  young  man's  life  was : 
When  he  stood  face  to  face  with  the  urgent 
request  from  Jesus  Christ,  to  follow  Him.  Ah, 
what  did  this  mean?  It  meant  a  great  deal.  It 
meant  the  same  thing  to  him  as  it  does  to  you  and 
to  me.  What  does  it  mean  to  follow  Christ. 
There  are  a  great  many  lines  in  which  we  could  di- 
rect our  thoughts  with  this  idea ;  but  I  invite  your 
attention  to  a  consideration  of  three  things  in- 
volved with  great  prominence,  in  following  Christ. 
The  first  of  these  is:  That  you  are  to  demonstrate 
to  the  world  that  you  are  a  follower.  The  Saviour 
said:  '*no  man  lights  a  lamp,  and  then  puts  it  un- 
der a  bushel."  He  also  said:  "I  am  the  light  of 
the  world,"  if  any  man  follow  after  me  he  shall 
not  walk  in  darkness,  but  he  shall  have  the  light  of 
life."  If  we  are  true  followers,  and  real  ambassa- 
dors of  Jesus  Christ,  we  must  let  our  lights  so 
shine  as  to  glorify  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven; 
and  demonstrate  to  the  world  that  we  are  soldiers 
of  the  Cross.  The  soldier  of  the  army  wears  a 
uniform,  not  only  to  show  that  he  is  in  the  service 
to  protect  the  interest  of  his  country;  but  that  uni- 
form also  shows,  the  country  to  which  he  belongs. 
The  member  of  a  lodge  wears  a  button,  or  a 

55 


56  Paying  the  Price 

badge,  to  demonstrate  that  he  belongs  to  that  or- 
ganization. Is  the  great  christian  organization, 
advocating  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man;  and 
pointing  out  the  way  to  eternal  salvation,  is  that 
organization  so  light,  trivial,  and  unbeneficial  in 
our  estimation  as  to  lead  us  to  conceal  and  deny 
our  membership.  Some  time  ago,  on  stepping 
from  a  train,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  in  one  of  the 
leading  cities  of  the  United  States;  a  man  was 
seen  standing  at  the  far  end  of  the  platform,  hand- 
ing out  leaflets  to  all  the  passengers  from  the  in- 
coming train.  As  the  procession  from  this  train 
came  to  an  end,  he  was  seen  to  hasten  to  another 
platform  to  meet  those  from  another  train  just 
arriving.  Before  receiving  one  of  these  leaflets, 
I  wondered  what  they  were.  As  he  handed  me  one 
I  read:  "This  is  the  Lord's  day;  will  you  not  put 
forth  an  effort  to  attend  one  of  His  houses  of  wor- 
ship in  this  city."  I  looked  the  man  over.  I 
watched  him  for  a  time.  He  had  all  the  appear- 
ance of  a  man  from  the  highest  ranks  of  the  social 
and  commercial  world.  He  transacted  this  item 
of  business  with  the  same  alacrity,  courtesy,  and 
apparent  delight  as  he  would  that  of  one  of  the 
large  department  stores  of  the  city.  I  there  and 
then  saw  as  I  never  did  before,  the  beauty  of  a 
man  from  the  commercial  world  demonstrating  ;o 
the  outside  world  that  he  was  a  follower  of  the 


The  Fifth  Stage — Christ  in  the  Balance     57 

Lord  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  one  of  the  prime  fac- 
tors in  Christian  discipleship.  The  young  man 
who  desires  to  triumph  in  life;  be  victorious  in 
death;  and  win  a  crown  of  glory  in  the  world  be- 
yond, let  him  not  refain  from  demonstrating  to 
the  world  that  he  is  a  follower  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  second  thing  that  we  must  do  is:  Not  to 
follow  Christ  "afar  off."  It  matters  not  what  we 
are  doing  in  life,  but  there  are  different  degrees 
of  interest  and  intensity,  which  we  can  put  into 
out  work.  One  of  the  maxims  of  life  is,  concen- 
tration of  interest  and  effort.  Anything  that  is 
worth  doing,  do  not  follow  it  afar  off.  To  look 
upon  an  object  from  a  distance  is  to  behold  that 
object  with  dim  outlines,  and  not  clear-cut.  Draw 
up  close  to  business.  Get  close  to  your  ideal  in 
life.  When  the  Saviour  was  being  led  to  the 
Cross,  those  whom  He  had  selected  to  be  a  center 
around  which  would  radiate  the  kingdom  He  es- 
tablished had  fled.  Where  were  they?  Had  they 
gone  back  to  Galilee,  to  their  respective  former 
occupations?  No;  they  were  still  following  Him; 
but  they  were  following  Him  afar  off,  to  see  what 
would  happen  to  their  great  leader  and  master. 
They  were  following  at  too  great  a  distance  to  be 
of  any  account  in  this  critical  time  in  the  experi- 
ences of  Christ.  Today  there  are  many  degrees 
of  following,  among  the  soldiers  of  the  Cross. 


58  Paying  the  Price 

Some  are  following  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the 
Saviour.  Some  are  following  Him  a  short  dis- 
tance to  the  rear.  Some,  so  as  to  see  the  Master 
as  He  is  about  to  turn  the  corner,  but  very  care- 
ful that  the  spectator  will  not  recognize  them  as 
belonging  to  the  Galilean  band.  Others  are  fol- 
lowing at  too  great  a  distance  to  be  of  any  account 
to  the  Saviour,  or  the  Saviour  to  them.  This 
young  man  when  he  came  to  Jesus  inquiring,  no 
doubt  entertained  the  idea  that  he  could  follow 
Him  in  a  manner  other  than  that  which  the  Sav- 
iour presented  to  him.  His  manner  of  following 
would  be  that  of  a  distance — afar  off.  Jesus  did 
not  compromise  on  this  score.  He  did  not  sug- 
gest that  he  hold  on  to  all  that  he  had  and  follow. 
The  true  following  of  Christ  will  not  mix  in  with 
the  mammonism  of  the  world.  You  cannot  be  a 
true  soldier  of  the  Cross,  while  following  the  Sav- 
iour afar  off. 

The  third  factor  in  following  Christ  is :  To  live 
close  to  His  teaching,  and  to  the  example  of  His 
life.  Before  the  coming  of  Christ,  man  was  grop- 
ing in  the  darkness,  striving  to  find  the  pathway  in 
which  he  should  travel.  In  the  ages  of  the  past, 
standards  were  established  for  man  to  follow  as 
the  way  of  righteousness;  only  to  prove  a  failure 
when  given  the  final  test.  Man  was  eagerly  listen- 
ing for  the  voices  "from  behind  saying,  this  is  the 


The  Fifth  Stage — Christ  in  the  Balance     59 

way,  walk  ye  In  it.''  There  was  no  sure  and  last- 
ing foundation  of  righteousness  upon  which  to 
build.  Into  the  midst  of  a  world  in  great  perplex- 
ity, the  Saviour  appeared;  and  by  His  life  and 
teaching,  gave  to  struggling  humanity  that  founda- 
tion for  which  the  ages  of  the  past  were  seeking. 
He  called  upon  men  to  come  unto  Him,  and  fol- 
low in  the  pathway  He  had  unfolded.  His  illus- 
tration of  the  relation,  that  should  exist  between 
Him  and  His  followers  was,  that  of  the  vine  and 
the  branches.  They  were  to  be  the  avenue  through 
which  His  life  and  teaching  would  find  expression 
in  the  ages  to  come.  They  were  to  bear  fruit  of 
what  He  was  and  taught.  They  were  to  be  the 
great  advocates  of  the  brotherhood  of  man.  They 
were  not  to  enter  into  a  controversy  with  an  oppo- 
nent, but  rather  vanish  out  of  their  sight;  and  un- 
der the  most  favorable  conditions  possible,  in  the 
spirit  of  love,  to  continue  the  propagation  of  the 
principles  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  They  were 
to  retire  to  the  mountain  side,  and  secluded  places, 
and  there  spend  whole  nights  in  prayer  and  com- 
munication with  heaven.  One  thing  the  true  fol- 
lower of  Christ  must  do ;  and  that  is,  to  hold  on  to 
the  teachings  of  Jesus,  and  the  example  of  His 
life.  Let  go  of  this,  and  you  are  simply  speculat- 
ing, as  to  the  demands  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
This  young  man  who  came  to  Jesus  Christ  asking 


6o  Paying  the  Price 

for  the  price  of  eternal  life,  learned  what  it  meant 
to  follow  Him.  He  must  demonstrate  to  the  world 
that  he  belonged  to  the  Galilean  band.  He  must 
render  a  whole  hearted  service.  He  must  put  the 
teaching  and  example  of  Jesus  in  place  of  the  Law 
and  the  Prophets.  He  must  renounce  that  master 
passion  of  his  life.  He  must  sell  all  to  follow  Him. 
He  must  pay  the  price.  At  this  stage  of  the  nar- 
rative, we  leave  him  face  to  face  with  the  Saviour, 
seriously  considering  the  cost  of  true  discipleship. 


THE  SIXTH  STAGE 

THE  PRICE  TOO  GREAT 

^  I  ""HE  final  stage  In  this  young  man's  life  was: 
when  he  considered  the  price  too  great,  and 
refused  to  pay  it.  He  desired  eternal  life ;  he  was 
shown  the  price ;  he  said,  it  is  too  much.  All  the 
master  achievements  of  life  are  bought  at  a  great 
price.  The  young  man  who  folds  his  arms,  declin- 
ing to  use  his  heavenly  endowed  talents;  and  not 
grasp  the  glorious  opportunities  of  life ;  and  at  the 
same  time,  expect  to  become  master  of  the  great 
achievements  of  his  age ;  that  young  man  is  expect- 
ing something  that  is  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the 
universe;  and  something  which  the  ages  of  the 
past  have  demonstrated  could  not  be  realized 
through  that  avenue.  The  master  inventor  of  the 
electrical  world,  was  asked  to  define  genius.  He 
replied,  that  genius  was  two  per  cent  inspiration, 
and  ninety-eight  per  cent  perspiration.  Great  tal- 
ents, and  endowments  that  are  born  with  a  man, 
will  become  as  flowers  in  the  desert,  and  gems  in 
the  dark  unfathomed  caves  of  the  ocean,  if  man 
docs  not  pay  the  price  of  the  full  application  of 
him.Fflf,  to  enable  those  endowments  to  unfold 
themselves  to  their  full  ability.  That  the  price 
must  be  paid  in  order  to  produce  results,  is  a  prin- 
ciple true  to  the  world  of  nature ;  true  in  commer- 


62  Paying  the  Price 

cial  activities ;  and  equally  true  in  the  realm  of  reli- 
gion. The  talipot  palm  grows  tall  and  majestic, 
lifting  its  head  above  its  surroundings.  Year  by 
year  it  is  seen  to  flourish  without  any  indications 
of  blossom  or  fruit.  At  the  end  of  forty  years  it 
blooms  itself  to  death.  Every  blossom  develops 
into  a  nut  which  falls  into  the  earth  and  brings 
forth  a  little  talipot  palm.  The  mother  tree  at 
once  begins  to  shrink  and  shrivel,  and  eventually 
crumbles  to  the  earth.  A  thousand  little  palm 
trees  are  seen  to  flourish,  but  the  mother  has  paid 
the  price.  In  the  tombs  of  Egypt,  among  the  mum- 
mies, among  the  dry  and  dusty  bones  of  the  long 
forgotten  and  buried  dead;  are  found  grains  of 
the  Egyptian  wheat.  This  grain  has  survived  the 
march  of  time.  While  multitudes  of  the  different 
departments  of  nature  caused  to  produce  and  re- 
produce; living  their  little  day  and  then  perished; 
while  generation  rapidly  succeed  generation ;  while 
empires  rose  and  died;  for  four  thousand  years, 
this  grain  with  marvelous  tenacity  held  on  to  its 
life  principle.  At  last,  when  brought  to  the  sun- 
light and  moisture,  it  expands,  and  brings  forth 
the  blade,  the  stock,  and  then  the  full  ear  of  many 
grains.  With  this  magnificent  product  brought 
forth,  we  ask  for  the  single  grain  which  survived 
the  ordeal  of  that  long  period  in  the  tombs  of  the 
dead.     We  learn  that  it  is  no  more.     To  bring 


The  Sixth  Stage — The  Price  Too  Great     63 

forth  this  product,  It  must  surrender  Its  very  life. 
It  paid  the  price.  The  world's  largest  concrete  via- 
duct, Is  that  of  Tunkhannock  In  northern  Pennsyl- 
vania. This  wonderful  piece  of  concrete  construc- 
tion, was  built  by  the  Lackawanna  railroad.  This 
corporation  sent  a  force  of  engineers  to  labor  for 
months  among  the  hills  and  ravines  of  this  section 
to  ascertain  the  feasibility  of  the  contemplated 
project.  After  days  and  months  of  arduous  labor, 
they  returned  to  the  head  offices,  bringing  in  the 
report.  Upon  one  side  they  laid  the  saving  to  the 
railroad  in  grade,  engine  power,  and  reduction 
in  time  of  fast  trains  between  New  York  and  Buf- 
falo. Upon  the  other  side  they  placed  the  price 
of  the  project — $12,000,000.  Thus  two  Items 
were  placed  before  this  railway  organization — the 
project,  and  the  cost.  Only  one  question  to  an- 
swer ;  shall  we  pay  the  price.  The  contract  was  let 
for  a  viaduct  2375  feet  long,  240  feet  high.  Com- 
posed of  ten  800  foot,  and  two  100  foot  spans. 
Today,  the  Lackawanna  is  reaping  the  benefits  of 
this  structure,  because  it  paid  this  enormous  price. 
For  centuries,  the  leading  men  of  the  commercial 
world  realized  the  enormous  benefits  to  the  whole 
v/orld,  from  a  waterway  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  connecting  the  sea  trade  of  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  oceans.  Since  the  year  155 1  the  idea 
was  before  the  world.     Plans  were  formulated: 


64  Paying  the  Price 

companies  organized;  and  work  begun,  but  all  ef- 
forts proved  a  failure.  In  the  year  1902  the  con- 
gress of  the  United  States  succeeded  in  reaching 
an  amicable  agreement  with  the  French  promoters 
whose  efforts  had  failed.  In  magnitude,  this  pro- 
ject surpassed  any  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the 
ancient  world.  The  cost  $375,000,000.  The  time 
to  complete  the  work,  twelve  to  thirteen  years.  Be- 
sides this,  an  enormous  toll  of  human  lives  from 
unfavorable  climatic  conditions.  The  work  was 
undertaken;  the  project  completed;  and  now  the 
world  is  reaping  the  benefits,  of  this  wonderful 
waterway;  all  because  an  enormous  price  was  paid. 
Hildeberg,  says  that  at  the  door  of  the  Temple 
of  Fame,  stands  an  angel  who  whispers  to  each 
young  candidate  for  honors:  **can  you  eat  crusts; 
can  you  wear  rags;  can  you  endure  blows;  can  you 
endure  sleepless  nights,  and  laborious  days;  and 
bitter  jibes,  and  scorn  and  shame;  If  not,  avaunt! 
there  Is  no  place  for  feeblings  here,"  Turner,  the 
great  English  artist,  had  chosen  Art  as  the  voca- 
tion of  his  life.  He  at  once  began  to  apply  him- 
self; only  to  meet  with  very  poor  success.  Failure 
was  written  In  very  bold  type  across  the  face  of  all 
his  efforts.  The  late  hours  of  the  night,  and  the 
early  ones  of  the  morning,  found  him  applying 
himself  to  the  last  ounce  of  his  physical  powers, 
and  artistic  ability,  that  he  might  attain  to  his 


The  Sixth  Stage — The  Price  Too  Great     65 

ideal.  In  the  sleepless  moments  of  the  midnight 
hour,  from  a  restless  pillow,  he  is  looking  out  into 
the  darkness  of  a  lightless  room  beholding  in  the 
frame  of  imagination  the  majestic  productions. 
He  slumbers  shedding  tears,  because  of  his  inabil- 
ity to  bring  that  master  production  of  the  imagina- 
tion into  reality  upon  the  canvas.  Sketch  after 
sketch  is  made;  until  at  last  the  number  has 
reached  twenty-seven  thousand.  Each  one  was 
pron..!  need  a  failure,  and  cast  aside.  At  last  the 
art  is  mastered,  of  bringing  before  his  soul  with 
profound  vividness  the  distinctive  features  of  the 
object;  and  the  hand  is  trained  to  link  with  the  im- 
agination, and  reproduce  upon  canvas  what  the 
soul  is  gazing  upon  within.  Twenty-seven  thou- 
sand fruitless  sketches;  weary  hours  of  sleepless 
nights;  nerves  at  high  tension  bordering  upon 
wreckage;  years  of  valuable  time  without  any 
fruitful  results,  was  a  great  price  to  pay.  But  the 
ideal  is  attained;  and  long  after  his  bones  have 
crumbled  to  dust,  the  centuries  laud  a  master  ar- 
tist; and  the  rising  generations  hold  his  memory 
fresh  as  they  look  upon  the  master  product  of  a 
master  man. 

Daniel  Webster  goes  down  into  the  annals  of 
time  as  one  of  the  master  intellects  of  the  Ameri- 
can continent,  and  of  the  world.  He  thus  stands 
out  because  of  towering  factors,  and  great  pillars 


66  Paying  the  Price 

in  his  life.  These  factors  were  not  produced  with- 
out extreme  effort.  His  oratorical  powers,  were 
but  the  product  of  a  great  price  paid  in  the  ex- 
treme application  of  himself  to  become  such.  The 
soul  stirring  portions,  of  his  memorable  reply  to 
Hayne,  were  not  the  product  of  the  moment,  but 
were  premeditated  as  early  as  twenty  years  in  the 
past.  Master  productions,  are  produced  only  by 
profound  study;  serious  meditation;  and  the  ex- 
treme application  of  our  heavenly  endowed  pow- 
ers. The  price  must  be  paid.  "Emerson,"  was 
filling  a  large  and  influential  pulpit  in  the  city  of 
Boston;  when  he  had  a  vision  of  stepping  down  to 
a  lower  rank,  that  he  might  later  become,  of  great- 
er service  to  his  Master,  and  the  cause  he  repre- 
sented. He  resigned,  and  went  out  to  a  small  se- 
cluded place,  receiving  for  his  service  the  sum  of 
six  hundred  dollars  a  year,  to  live  on.  For  a  time, 
he  actually  disappeared;  only  that  he  might  open 
up  the  way  to  greater  heights  in  the  achievements 
of  life.  Savonarola,  the  great  religious  reformer, 
was  approached  by  the  Pope  of  Rome,  and  asked 
to  sell  his  religious  convictions  for  a  certain  price. 
He  would  be  made  a  cardinal ;  he  would  live  in  a 
palace,  and  have  gold  and  silver  in  abundance.  He 
showed  greater  strength  than  Judas  of  old;  he 
shook  his  head  and  said,  nay.  He  endured  the  pri- 
vations of  life.    He  endured,  beholding  from  afar 


The  Sixth  Stage — The  Price  Too  Great     67 

that  which  was  at  present  invisible.  John  Bunyan 
must  pay  the  price  of  Incarceration  in  Bedford 
Jail,  that  the  way  might  be  opened  for  him  to  give 
to  the  world  his  master  book,  "The  Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress." The  Pilgrim  Fathers,  and  the  American 
leaders  of  the  following  generations  endured  great 
suffering,  and  extreme  privations.  The  Civil  war 
placed  crape  upon  the  doors  of  thousands  of 
American  homes.  But  all  these  privations,  and 
sufferings  were  necessary  in  order  to  produce  a 
country  where  freedom,  equality,  and  justice 
would  sit  forever  upon  the  throne. 

Today,  at  the  close  of  the  world  war,  the  world 
has  given  a  sigh  of  relief,  because  the  task  is  over, 
and  the  price  Is  paid.  The  Issue  at  stake,  was  au- 
tocracy, against  world  democracy.  The  price  paid 
was  twenty-five  millions  of  the  human  race  crip- 
pled and  dead;  and  two  hundred  billions  of  the 
world's  wealth  cast  into  the  junk  heap  of  war.  Add 
to  this  the  millions  of  sad  homes,  and  broken 
hearts,  and  we  have  the  price  paid  by  the  twentieth 
century  for  the  freedom  of  man,  the  rights  of  hu- 
manity, and  the  democracy  of  the  world.  Was  It 
not  better  that  one  generation  should  thus  pay  the 
price;  than  to  permit  the  suffering  and  misery  of 
the  ages  to  come.  The  burying  grounds  of  the 
battle  fields  of  Europe  with  their  countless  crosses, 
loom  up  before  us,  a  marvelous  panorama  of  the 


68  Paying  the  Price 

price  that  was  paid.  These  crosses  will  crumble  to 
the  dust.  Over  these  fields  will  wave  the  golden 
grain,  reminding  us  of  the  shortness  of  human 
memory.  Memories  of  this  buried  dead  will  be 
long  forgotten;  but  the  influence  of  their  great 
achievement  so  dearly  bought,  will  pass  down,  far, 
far  into  the  rising  generations,  and  may  be  the 
means  of  opening  up  the  way  for  the  transforma- 
tion of  this  world  into  a  new  heaven,  and  a  new 
earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness. 

In  the  "Fullness  of  time,"  the  Saviour  came  to 
this  world.  The  condition  of  the  human  race  was 
sadly  in  the  need  of  a  transforming  power;  and 
the  price  must  be  paid.  The  prince  of  darkness 
came  where  Christ  was,  in  the  temptation  wilder- 
ness, and  offered  a  bribe.  Jesus  would  not  sell 
His  honor,  religion,  and  heaven  appointed  com- 
mission. Instead,  was  willing  to  pay  the  price  on 
Calvary's  Cross.  In  the  garden.  He  sweats  great 
drops  of  blood.  He  pleads  with  the  Father,  "if 
it  be  possible  let  this  cup  pass  from  me."  He  wore 
the  crown,  and  robe  of  the  jeers  and  mockery  of 
this  world.  He  bore  His  cross  to  the  height  of 
calvary.  He  suffered  the  agony  of  the  crucifixion. 
The  last  moments  surrounding  His  earthly  career, 
were  so  agonizing,  that  He  is  heard  to  cry  out; 
"My  God,  My  God  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me." 
All  this  was  the  price  paid  for  the  redemption  of 


The  Sixth  Stage — The  Price  Too  Great     69 

man,  and  the  salvation  of  the  world.  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  offering  the  crown  of  eternal 
life ;  but  between  the  soul  and  that  crown,  there  are 
many  obstacles.  No  favors  are  granted.  Heaven 
demands  a  price,  and  it  must  be  paid.  The  young 
man  of  this  Bible  narrative  had  the  way  of  salva- 
tion clearly  pointed  out  to  him.  He  was  no  longer 
in  doubt  as  to  what  to  do.  He  saw  his  duty  clearly 
but  he  considered  the  price  too  great,  and  he  is  lost 
forever.  Young  man;  I  have  presented  this  fund 
of  multiplied  illustration  to  impress  upon  you  the 
great  necessity  for  paying  the  price.  Consider  the 
matter  well. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminarv  Ub^ 


1    1012  01197  0292 


